On August 5, 2019, a stipulated judgment was entered by the Riverside County Superior Court in the case of People v. Renovate America, Inc. (No. RIC1904068).

The stipulated judgment followed a joint investigation by the Kern County District Attorney’s Office and other prosecutor offices into concerns that Renovate America, in advertising and promoting its Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program known as the “Home Energy Renovation Opportunity” (HERO), misrepresented the program or failed to make adequate disclosures to avoid misleading consumers, including:

• that the HERO financing program was government affiliated or subsidized;
• the nature of the tax deductibility of HERO assessments;
• key facts about the transferability of HERO assessments to subsequent property owners in the sale of properties subject to HERO liens;
• the costs of financing under the program; and
• the nature of its policy of “verifying” contractors to work on HERO-related projects.

Under the terms of the judgment, Renovate America will pay $2.79 million to provide funding for legal assistance for consumers with PACE-related legal and financing issues.

To obtain such legal assistance, consumers should fill out the linked “Consumer Contact Information Form” and return it to this office by email or mail to the addresses included at the top of the form. This office will then forward the completed Consumer Contact Information Form to one of the legal aid offices being funded under the Renovate America judgment, and a representative of that legal aid office will then contact the consumer.

If you have any questions, please call our office at (800) 619-3039 or use the dedicated email address for this program: paceassistance@kernda.org.

PACE Assistance Contact Form (PDF)